A new report from the University of East Anglia has raised concerns about the state of democracy around the world during 2024's 'Super Cycle' of elections.
Described by Time Magazine as the 'Year of Elections', 2024 saw 1.6 billion people head to the polls across 74 national elections in 62 countries - an unprecedented concentration of democratic activity in a single year.
But a global report from the Electoral Integrity Project, released today, paints a mixed and often troubling picture of how those elections were conducted.
It points to a decline in election quality across several prominent democracies including Mexico, the UK and Indonesia.
While countries like Iceland (best) Uruguay, Lithuania, and Finland were recognised for holding the highest quality elections, others - including Syria (worst), Rwanda, Chad, Iran, and Belarus - ranked at the bottom, continuing longstanding trends of electoral malpractice.
Prof Toby James, from UEA's School of Politics, Philosophy and Area Studies, said: "2024 was a record-breaking year of global voting. But what we are seeing is that several prominent democracies, including the UK and the US, experienced a decline in electoral quality.
"Notable declines" in the US
"In the US, the 2024 presidential election saw notable declines in electoral integrity, particularly in participation and deliberation.
"While vote counting and procedural aspects showed strength, the integrity of electoral boundaries, media coverage, and campaign finance remained significant concerns, with gerrymandering and disinformation continuing to undermine democratic confidence."
UK a "serious concern"
"It is a serious concern that the UK is now one of the lower scoring countries in Europe for electoral quality."
"We can put this partially down to the new photo ID rules, which stopped many people from voting in 2024. The first-past-the-post electoral system also meant that Labour netted a huge majority of seats in Parliament with just 34 per cent of the vote.
"A further weakness is the electoral registration system which is in need of reform. The government should urgently bring forward legislation to improve election quality and make the UK a beacon for democracy."
Best practice from Iceland
"Iceland has a number of laws and practices for running elections which have widely shown to improve election quality," said Prof James.
"This includes automatic voter registration which means that citizens ' names are already on the electoral roll on election day. Voters are not turned away from the polls as a result.
"The electoral system is also fair to smaller parties. Each party tends to receive a roughly equal share of the seats in the Althingi (the Icelandic Parliament) in proportion to the votes they receive.
"There is also a very balanced media environment with journalists providing fair coverage of the elections. Disinformation on social media does not appear to have entered the campaign cycle in Iceland in the way that it has in other countries."
Dr Holly Ann Garnett, an honorary research fellow from UEA's School of Politics, Philosophy and Area Studies, said: "This report highlights that electoral integrity can be threatened on many fronts, from pre-election rules and the campaign environment to election day and results adjudication."
Out of the 62 countries evaluated, 21 saw improvements in election quality compared to previous contests, but 33 experienced declines.
Notably, countries like Mauritius, Madagascar, France, Venezuela, and Uruguay showed measurable improvements, though experts caution that Venezuela and Madagascar remain among the lowest scorers globally despite these gains.
Two standout cases of electoral strengthening were Ghana and Mauritius, where reforms and improved practices bolstered electoral integrity.
Democratic backsliding in major democracies
Among the most concerning findings were notable declines in electoral quality in established and emerging democracies, including Mexico, the UK, and Indonesia.
- Mexico saw its score drop from 65 to 53, attributed to concerns over electoral officials' fairness, biased district boundaries, and the misuse of state resources during campaigns. Widespread protests erupted throughout the year in response to controversial electoral reforms proposed by the president.
- In the United Kingdom, newly implemented photo ID requirements were found to restrict access to the ballot box, disproportionately affecting marginalized voters. Moreover, the country's first-past-the-post electoral system produced a government with 63 per cent of parliamentary seats from just 34 per cent of the popular vote - a level of disproportionality that drew international criticism.
- Indonesia experienced a significant decline in the fairness of candidate competition and election adjudication, raising red flags about the country's democratic trajectory.
Prof James said: "Mexico's 2024 elections marked a historic milestone with the election of Claudia Sheinbaum as the country's first female president But this was accompanied by a sharp decline in electoral integrity - particularly in adjudication and election administration.
"Concerns included the fairness of officials, misuse of state resources, and compromised electoral boundaries. Failed and controversial reforms to the National Electoral Institute, judicial politicization, and widespread electoral violence contributed to an atmosphere of insecurity and democratic erosion," he added.
Other countries facing electoral declines included Rwanda, El Salvador, Austria, Solomon Islands, the US, Bulgaria, Georgia, and India.
Prof James said: "India's 2024 general election saw a slight decline in electoral integrity, particularly in adjudication and perceptions of election management.
"Concerns were raised over the impartiality of the Election Commission following a 2023 legal change giving the executive significant influence over appointments - heightened by the timing of new appointments just before the polls.
"While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power, its reduced majority led to the formation of a coalition government."
Media and money still weakest links
The report underscores persistent global problems in the campaign environment, particularly in campaign financing and media access, which received the lowest scores across electoral stages.
Conversely, vote counting and results adjudication were among the better-performing aspects of elections.
Prof James added: "The nature of the problems varies enormously across countries. It shows that elections are only as strong as their weakest part. During an age of global uncertainty, policymakers must use this data to redress electoral flaws, and civil society must demand better elections."
